Zeus

Zeus

I love Greek mythology so I'm making these posts about Greek gods and myths. I hope that this interests you as much as me. 

Name and meaning: Zeus related to the old Indo-European god Dyeus whose name probably meant "shine" or "sky".

God of: the sky, lightning, thunder, law, order, justice. He is the king of all gods.

Family: His wife is Hera, though he has lots of affairs with other goddesses and mortals. His children (gods) are Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Persephone, Hephaestus, Ares, Aphrodite, Hermes and Dionysus. He is the son of Kronos and Rhea. He is the youngest of his brothers and sisters who are, Hestia, Hades, Hera, Poseidon and Demeter.

Zeus's symbol: a lightning bolt 

Zeus's symbol: an eagle

Zeus's symbol: an oak tree

Some of the most famous myths of Zeus

The titan war against the gods

Rhea, wife of the titan lord Kronos, told her husband that one of his children would overpower him like he did to his father (another myth). To prevent this, Kronos ate all his children (Hestia, Hades, Hera, Poseidon and Demeter) as soon as they were born. The only child who escaped this fate was Zeus; Rhea had given Kronos a rock to eat instead and hidden the boy on the island of Crete. When Zeus reached adulthood, he forced Kronos to disgorge his siblings, who, because they were immortal, had grown up in the titan’s stomach. Zeus then made war with the titans and drove them into the pit of Tartarus (after cutting Kronos into pieces). From then on, the gods ruled.

Zeus punishes Prometheus

Prometheus was the titan of forethought and crafty counsel who was entrusted with the task of molding mankind out of clay. Prometheus taught mankind to use fire in every different way; to forge metal, to cook, to keep warm... but Prometheus didn't teach humans to honour the gods. So Zeus, dishonoured took the fire away from humans and kept it in Olympus. Prometheus stole the fire and it shined on earth once more. Since Zeus couldn't kill the immortal titan, he attached Prometheus to a rock on Mount Caucasus and every day, Zeus’s eagle came to feast on the titan’s ever-regenerating liver. Centuries later the great hero Heracles came along and released Prometheus from his torture.